FSD on a lease?

[Dan203]

So if you lease a Model 3 today the FSD option adds about $80/mo to the payment. Do you guys think that FSD will make enough meaningful progress in the next 3 years to warrant that extra $80/mo? I like the idea of it, and it would be neat if it worked, but from the videos I've seen on how it works now it doesn’t seem like it's that useful. (I don’t drive in a lot of stop and go traffic)

The catch is that because I'm leasing I'm never going to pay for it after the fact. I'm not going to pay $6k (or more) to add this feature to a car I don’t own and have no option to purchase at the end of the lease. So it's now or never, and I'm starting to lean toward never.

 

[vjason]

The question I would ask myself is if NOA worth $80 a month?
3 years is not a lot of time. When off highway self drive debuts you know there will be a lot of nags for a few years (at least).
I bought it during the sale, so I'm pulling for it but the first few years of FSD will probably be a big beta test at best.

 

[willow_hiller]

I would value FSD on a lease for what it does right now. If you want to get quantitative about it as well, you can add in the expected value of FSD, but that's getting more probabilistic.

$80 a month over 3 years would cost $2,880 and get you these features definitely:

- Auto lane change
- Navigate on AP
- Summon
- Autopark

If that's worth about $3k to you, definitely go for it. Features that should come out within the next three years are:

- City NOA
- Stop light/sign recognition
- Enhanced Summon

It's possible more features might be ready before the lease is up. But the odds of government regulation allowing them to be used to their fullest extent within 3 years are low.

 

[notAnExpert]

For me, what they offer now as FSD isn’t worth $3K. Musk/Tesla has over promised and under delivered on FSD so far. It is hard to believe any of their FSD timelines. If I’m going to keep my car only for three years, I’d instead put the $3K in my kids’ college fund.

 

[r1200gs4ok]

he's gonna have to turn it in after 3yrs.....cant purchase it........so the question is, unless it comes out before the lease runs out, this is all you have now:

- Auto lane change
- Navigate on AP
- Summon
- Autopark

Is that worth the extra monthly cost?....you got to figure that out yourself......if it were me and I did a lot of freeway driving......I would get it..

 

[pitabun]

The same car you lease from Tesla will become part of the taxi fleet, which would have it enabled anyway. You are paying for something that will be activated regardless.

I would rather spend my 80/m elsewhere, city driving will be in early access forever regardless and that's what the majority of us paid for.

 

[chewyc]

I’m in the same boat, leading a model 3 performance in a few months to replace an Audi S3 I’m rolling off of. Considering you can’t buy the car at the end of the lease as it stands now I just can’t see the value. I’m going AP and saving a ton.

If you really really want the beta FSD features and have faith that the timelines are realistic the only financially sensible option is to buy the car.

Tesla promises and promises but you may not even be close to actual FSD and regulatory approval by the end lease is up.

My 2c!

 

[MTSN]

I would say no. Lots of money for very little functionality today.

 

[willow_hiller]

I would say no. Lots of money for very little functionality today.

Fair point. That's half as much money as someone who owns a 3 would pay to add FSD to their vehicle permanently. I think the vast majority of the value from FSD will be in 5-10 years, so it's quite a risk to add it to a 3 year lease.

 

[trident]

Don't buy it. I am on 7 months with nothing to show for $2500, except a bunch of games. Not worth it.

 

[Glamisduner]

Nope

 

[Toppatop55]

I picked up my model 3 lease a month ago and opted not to get FSD. Auto pilot alone does what I need. Tesla shops make FSD a one time purchase that follows the owner/driver’s account. Imagine using my phone key to start the car and automatically it knows I’m an FSD driver and the feature is enabled. Just a thought

 

[tvad]

No. Save your money.

 

[Dan203]

No. Save your money.

I did.

 

[Dan203]

I picked up my model 3 lease a month ago and opted not to get FSD. Auto pilot alone does what I need. Tesla shops make FSD a one time purchase that follows the owner/driver’s account. Imagine using my phone key to start the car and automatically it knows I’m an FSD driver and the feature is enabled. Just a thought

I think they should offer it as a service paid monthly. Then people could turn it on/off as needed or just turn it on for a month or two just to try it out.

 

[tvad]

I think they should offer it as a service paid monthly. Then people could turn it on/off as needed or just turn it on for a month or two just to try it out.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to offer FSD with a 30 day money back trial period.

However I think Tesla probably prefers to lock in profits rather than have the uncertainty.

 

[derekmw]

Yeah, I also did not get FSD. But I think I am in a minority that I do not like even the basic autopilot. I just find it irritating and take over more often than not. The only thing I do like right now is that cruise control is traffic aware and is nice for when you're in stop/go traffic.

 

[AdamVIP]

As it is now I would not spend on FSD as a purchase or lease. When they allow for city driving it will be worth it. City driving is years off right now.

 

[Dan203]

My biggest concern, and the reason I ultimately didn't buy, was that I'm only going to have the car for 3 years. The features available right now are not worth an extra $80/mo, and unless they can get the promised features done really soon that money is just going to nothing. Even if they manage to get them all done and fully functional by the end of next year, like Elon has promised, that still makes the cost about $138/mo for the remaining 21 months. And if they don't, which I suspect they won't, the value proposition just gets worse and worse with every passing month.

If the feature was fully functional at the time I was buying I'd have probably got it, just for the cool factor, even if I didn't use it that much. But paying $80/mo for a promise of something that may never even be fully functional during the term of the lease seems silly.